The Philippines, through DOF, and China exchanged documents Tuesday (Nov. 20) on three economic agreements covering the cooperation arrangements between the two countries in implementing key infrastructure projects in Mindanao under the “Build, Build, Build” program and Chinese funding support for feasibility studies on priority development projects of the Duterte administration.
These accords, signed by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on behalf of the Philippine government, were among the 29 agreements exchanged between the two countries to cap President Xi Jinping’s historic state visit to the Philippines, the first by a Chinese leader in 13 years.
President Duterte and President Xi witnessed the exchange of agreements in ceremonies held at the Malacañan Palace early Tuesday evening.
Dominguez and Commerce Minister Zhong Shan of China exchanged the document on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Jointly Promoting the Cooperation in Key Infrastructure Projects in Davao Region.
The MOU outlines the cooperation arrangements between the Philippines and China in implementing big-ticket infrastructure projects in Davao, which initially includes the Davao City Expressway Project, the Davao-Samal Bridge, and the Bucana-Davao River Coastal Bypass Road of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); and the Mindanao Railway Project of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Dominguez also exchanged with Wang Xiaotao, the Chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), an MOU that provides the framework for China’s support for the feasibility study of the Duterte administration’s major projects as agreed upon between the two countries.
CIDCA also exchanged with the Department of Finance (DOF) the document that provides financing for new projects covered by the Philippines-China Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation. These new projects covered by the RMB500 million accord includes financing for the Davao River Bridge (Bucana) Project and the donation of x-ray machines and scanning technologies to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and other projects to be mutually agreed upon by the two governments.
Aside from these economic cooperation agreements, Dominguez and Chen Siqing, chairman of the Bank of China, also exchanged documents on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) providing a general framework to facilitate cooperation between the DOF and the Chinese bank on future issuances by the Philippines of renminbi-denominated “Panda” bonds in the Chinese debt capital market.
The Bank of China had served as one of the lead underwriters for the Philippines’ first “Panda” bond float of RMB 1.46 billion last March.
The MOU covers the Philippines’ plan to return to the China Interbank Bond market in 2019, with a possible application for a multi-tranche RMB 6 billion bond issuance.
Aside from being the lead underwriter for the “Panda” bonds, Bank of China also acts as the Philippines’ joint global coordinator for its upcoming global dollar bond transaction, and is involved in establishing a direct currency conversion platform between the Philippine peso and the Chinese renminbi.
Minister Zhong signed a handover certificate that served as the Philippines’ acknowledgment of the receipt of China’s USD1 million humanitarian cash assistance for the victims of Typhoon Mangkhut (Typhoon Ompong).
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